This text was originally written in May 2016 for Teach For America purposes. Now that my TFA commitment is coming to a close, I have decided to publish my Articulation of Leadership and share with my fellow teachers in hopes that it might express the importance of our work and inspire teachers to continue teaching.
My year in teaching has been nontraditional in every single sense of the word. All the experience I had to go off from were six weeks in training with only 45 minutes of teaching a day. My first couple of months of teaching was more of learning what not to do. It wasn’t until the second semester where I felt more comfortable and began seeing the growth I wanted to see in my students. We started off as a class with struggling readers with a true dislike toward books, but now we’ve become a class of eager-to-learn kids with a growth mindset and rising scores.
One of my students in particular has shown so much progress. She enjoys writing but struggles with reading. At this early stage in elementary, it is easy for children to see the two subjects as distinct from each other. I explained to her that the best writers read often to better their writing. We made a promise that each time we read a book together, we would examine what the author did to write well. I’m happy to say that she is improving every day. In the beginning of the year, she made a 50 on her reading benchmark; the second time she took it, she made 60; and, the last time she took it, she made a 70. She is growing her reading skills fast and I feel extremely fortunate to be able to help her in her advancement.
Stories like that of this student occur all the time in my classroom. I’m more and more proud of them every day. They’ve come so far. Fortunately, their peak of learning occurred during our STAAR-preparation period. Where before they’d look down and avoid eye contact at any mention of the term STAAR, they now say “Miss, I think I can pass it.”
Those words exactly were said by a student who was repeating third grade. This student, in as long as I have taught him, has been a distracted child; always looking for something to entertain him. His lack of focus often made it difficult for him to pass tests. All of the sudden though, mid-semester, something changed. He knew all the answers to the reading questions and could verbalize his thought process on choosing the right answer. I think that might have been the key. I make all the kids explain how they chose their answer. This justification makes them use analytical thinking skills and it makes them more confident in their answers.
My students have shown a tremendous amount of growth. More importantly, they see growth in their own learning, which truly is the best part of it all. I am very fortunate to have been a part of their progression. I am even more proud at how proud they are of themselves. At this closing point in the year, I can honestly say that this year wasn’t about my growth in leadership, but instead, my students’ growth in leadership.
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The academic school year 2015 through 2016 was a year of many changes. I started my new career as an educator; before I had been an editor. This was a big jump for me. I went from reading and editing books every day to teaching children how to read. The decision to change careers was not an easy one, but I knew without a shadow of doubt that I wanted to teach. More specifically, I wanted to teach literacy. Truth is: I love reading and writing. I love it so much that I want to share it with the rest of the world. And there is no better place to begin than in the classroom.
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| My students sharing and celebrating a book we published titled The Day the Students Took Charge. |
One of my students in particular has shown so much progress. She enjoys writing but struggles with reading. At this early stage in elementary, it is easy for children to see the two subjects as distinct from each other. I explained to her that the best writers read often to better their writing. We made a promise that each time we read a book together, we would examine what the author did to write well. I’m happy to say that she is improving every day. In the beginning of the year, she made a 50 on her reading benchmark; the second time she took it, she made 60; and, the last time she took it, she made a 70. She is growing her reading skills fast and I feel extremely fortunate to be able to help her in her advancement.
Stories like that of this student occur all the time in my classroom. I’m more and more proud of them every day. They’ve come so far. Fortunately, their peak of learning occurred during our STAAR-preparation period. Where before they’d look down and avoid eye contact at any mention of the term STAAR, they now say “Miss, I think I can pass it.”
Those words exactly were said by a student who was repeating third grade. This student, in as long as I have taught him, has been a distracted child; always looking for something to entertain him. His lack of focus often made it difficult for him to pass tests. All of the sudden though, mid-semester, something changed. He knew all the answers to the reading questions and could verbalize his thought process on choosing the right answer. I think that might have been the key. I make all the kids explain how they chose their answer. This justification makes them use analytical thinking skills and it makes them more confident in their answers.
My students have shown a tremendous amount of growth. More importantly, they see growth in their own learning, which truly is the best part of it all. I am very fortunate to have been a part of their progression. I am even more proud at how proud they are of themselves. At this closing point in the year, I can honestly say that this year wasn’t about my growth in leadership, but instead, my students’ growth in leadership.
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